Just as everything faded, strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me out of death's embrace.

"Bianca!" The voice rumbled like thunder through fog.

Dominic.

His worrying eyes were the last thing I saw before going limp in his arms.

When I woke, the gentle sweet scent of lilies filled the room. A large bouquet rested on the table beside my bed, white petals fresh and trembling like they had been placed there with care.

My fingers trembled as I reached for the folded note left beneath the flowers.

Bianca — The baby is doing well. Please don't worry about her.

I know lilies are your favorite and bring you comfort. I wanted to stay, but the Bratva hit one of our border operations and I had to leave immediately.

I don't want you to face anything alone again, Bianca. Not now, not ever. Please answer me — are you willing to marry me?

My breath caught as I lifted my phone to reply.

Bianca: Okay. This Sunday. Let's get married.

Three days passed in the hospital, and not once did Nico show up.

On the third day, I finally opened my phone only to find it flooded with Serafina's photos. Rumpled sheets in the background as shadows mingled intimately in the candlelight. Photos of Nico kissing her belly affectionately, cooking for her and spending every night at her place.

The memories flooded my mind like a curse.

When I was nineteen, I burned dinner so badly the kitchen filled with smoke. I stood there on the verge of tears, but Nico sat down and ate every bite, smiling like it was the best meal he ever had. Then he gently pushed me out of the kitchen, kissed my forehead, and said softly, "You are already everything to me, Bia. Let me do the rest." Then with a shy smile added, "That way… that way I will know how to cook when our daughter arrives."

That careful, earnest love was gone and reduced to the cold hatred I felt in this instant. It was then a message chimed on my phone.

Nico: I am willing to overlook what happened earlier.

Tomorrow, I will accompany you to choose the wedding dress. Don't disappoint me again.

Once the Southern Shipping Route deal is finalized, everything will be in order.

I stared at the screen for a long moment before replying.

The deal you feel smug about is already cancelled, Nico.

Bianca: Fine.

I didn't bother explaining that the wedding gown I would be choosing had nothing to do with him.

The next morning, I was discharged only to find Serafina accompanying Nico to "help her sister." I didn't speak, sitting with my hands folded in my lap, watching the city blur past the window as Serafina filled the silence. One of Nico's soldiers drove. Another sat in the passenger seat, eyes forward, hand resting on his lap in a way that wasn't casual.

The car finally stopped before the most exclusive bridal boutique in the city.

Serafina smiled and turned to me, her eyes shining with soft triumph. "Look, Sister," she said gently. "Everything here is reserved for the most deserving bride."

As soon as we entered, the sales assistant greeted us with polished enthusiasm, guiding us through the season's finest designs.

My steps slowed as one dress caught my eye.

Ivory and elegant. Just like my mother's wedding gown that was "accidentally" torn by Serafina.

My fingers trembled as I reached out slowly, afraid to taint it, when a voice echoed lightly.

"That one… that is my dream dress."

Before I could touch it, a sharp pain burst across my skin.

SLAP!

My hand flew back as the sound echoed through the boutique, red bruises blooming instantly where Nico's palm had struck.

For a second, Nico stilled, his hand frozen mid-air as if he had only just realized what he had done.

"Bianca… I… that… that doesn't suit you," he explained hurriedly before pointing toward another rack randomly. "That one is best for you."

The sales assistant hesitated, confusion flickering across her features. "Sir… are you sure? You really want your bride to wear that?"

The moment my gaze followed where Nico pointed, a dull ache blossomed in my chest.

Black.

A mourning dress that shone like gems.

I saw the realization strike his eyes a second too late, his lips parting as if to correct himself.

"I saw wrongly. If you are upset, choose whatever you like—"

"I will wear it," I said softly.

The words fell into the boutique like a final bell.

"Bianca, you…" Nico said, stunned, his gaze searching my face, unsettled, like he was looking for tears that never came.

Before the silence could stretch any further, Serafina's voice slipped in gently. Her fingertips drifted to her collarbone, eyes glistening with tears that shimmered but never fell.

"Sister… I am so sorry… today was ruined because of me."

"To make up for it, would you… come to Sunday dinner tonight?" she offered, eyes reddening as if guilt weighed heavily on her heart. "Father misses you terribly. His heart condition worsened after you cut off all contact."

Hearing those words, the small flicker of guilt lingering in Nico's eyes vanished instantly.

"Alright," I replied, making her innocent facade crack for a moment.

I agreed. Not for her.

But because once, my brothers had been my shelter, my twin's footsteps always half a breath behind mine, his hand reaching for mine whenever he was afraid. Before bloodlines mattered, they had loved me without conditions. This would be my final farewell to those memories.

When we finally reached my childhood home, everyone was already seated. The Ferrante house smelled the same as it always had. Garlic and rosemary in the walls. Old wine in the cellar below. The long dining table with its white cloth and heavy silverware, places set with the precision my father demanded.

Father didn't look at me. My brothers didn't greet me. Their attention belonged solely to Serafina.

"You shouldn't strain yourself," Father said gently, his voice softening in a way I barely recognized. He cut his food slowly as he spoke, each piece exactly the same size, the knife never pausing. "Especially in your condition."

Then, as if continuing a thought already settled in his mind, he said, "Serafina was always a kind child… gentle and considerate. She would make a far better wife to lead the household."

Only then did his gaze flick toward me, cold and already done.

"When Bianca ran away, I feared she would truly go astray. Nico, we are grateful you took responsibility for this rebellious child."

Something cold slid down my spine.

The room stilled.

"It wasn't me who was impregnated by an unknown man and still walked through the Family without shame." My eyes lifted, steady.

"Shouldn't Father first ask his 'good daughter' which man she chose to share her bed with?"

CLANG!

A hand slammed hard against the table.

"You shameless woman, do you think Serafina is like you!" My elder brother Tomas exploded, his voice ripping through the room as he stood up furiously. "Wasn't killing Mom enough that now you even want to sow discord in our family?!"

My fingers went numb against the edge of the table. "I… I never—"

"Oh really?" My twin brother Elena stood, his gaze sliding downward slowly until it landed on my stomach with disgust. He cracked his knuckles one at a time, starting with the left hand.

"Let it be, brother." He smirked. "Maybe God saw what kind of woman she was and kept her barren for years. Even when she conceived… it was all but a dead child."

Something broke then.

Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just the quiet understanding that I had loved people who never once tried to love me back.

For years, I had stood between my twin and Father's temper, taken the blows meant for him, swallowed my own pain so he could remain unscarred.

But from beginning to end, none of them ever looked back.

"Brother Elena," Serafina sobbed softly then, clutching at his sleeve. "Please… don't say such things. Sister didn't mean it."

Nico looked at me sharply and did not bother to defend me, as if saying I deserved it.

It was then Father cut in sharply, his impatience freezing the room. The knife in his hand hadn't stopped moving once.

"Enough. Serafina especially cooked the meal herself despite being pregnant. Must you always ruin the atmosphere, Bianca?! Go on and serve the food. That's all you are good for!"

I stood, unable to breathe. My fingers drifted to the hollow of my throat where my mother's locket once hung. There was nothing there. My hand dropped, and my jaw set.

"I am leaving."

Nico's hand closed around my arm, rough and unyielding.

"You will not," he said quietly. "Didn't you already ruin everything… I am already at my limit, Bianca."

"No—"

"Do it," he said quietly, his grip tightening.

"Or I will announce to the entire Family that your mother died because of your weakness. That the Bratva came for you and she stepped in to die because you couldn't even protect yourself."

My world tilted violently as he twisted the deepest of my wounds and tore it open.

I turned toward the kitchen because there was nowhere else to go.

Each step felt heavy as I carried the food back. I settled into my seat with a heavy silence, and each mouthful felt like I was chewing on cold wax.

Then warmth touched my lip.

I wiped it absently and stared at the blood on my fingers. It dripped slowly onto the white tablecloth.

My chest tightened, breath coming shallow and sharp. I lifted my eyes to Serafina.

She met my gaze and smiled, mouthing a word when no one was watching.

Peanuts.

I huffed, clawing at my chest, deathly allergic.

"Bianca—" Nico noticed first before Serafina screamed.

"My stomach!"

She doubled over, clutching herself as panic erupted instantly around her.

Chairs scraped back. Nico rushed to her side. My father and brothers surrounded her, voices overlapping in fear.

"Call the doctor!"

No one looked at me.

I gripped the edge of the table, blood trickling down as my vision darkened, my lungs burning as if the air itself had abandoned me.

They rushed her out.

And I was left behind, struggling to breathe.

The ambulance siren wailed through the night.

My vision swam in and out as I was wheeled inside the hospital.

"Miss!" The doctor caught my face gently, forcing my unfocused gaze to hers. "Listen to me. If you can hold on for one hour, we can save the baby. But I need to give you this injection right now."

"This will stabilize you. If I don't administer it, your heart will fail before labour finishes. Your body can't handle both shock and blood loss."

My hands trembled as I clutched my belly, terror clawing its way up my throat.

"Do it," I whispered. "Please… do it."

The needle had barely touched my skin.

Bang! Graystone soldiers flooded in, two at the front with hands inside their jackets, and behind them Nico strode forward, his arms holding Serafina trembling like a wounded lamb.

Nico's gaze landed on the syringe before something ugly twisted in his eyes.

He strode forward and slapped the doctor's hand away.

The syringe, my last chance, flew through the air and shattered against the floor, the lifesaving medicine spilling out uselessly.

"You! No!" the doctor screamed. "That shot was her only chance! The baby won't make it! Even Bianca's heart—"

"There is a limit to shamelessness! You found Serafina was getting her treatment here and hired all doctors faking your illness!" Nico didn't let the doctor finish.

"Get her out and prepare for Serafina's treatment immediately!" he ordered coldly.

The nurse interjected quickly. "Sir, Miss Serafina seems fine. It's Miss Bianca—"

The doctor was taken away despite resistance and the door slammed shut. Two soldiers stood outside it like sentinels, arms crossed, faces blank.

Silence crashed down before a thunderous sound echoed.

SLAP!

My head whipped sideways, the taste of blood bursting across my tongue. The room spun as my ears rang from the force. The fluorescent light above me strobed once, or maybe that was my vision failing.

For half a second, Nico's gaze faltered when he saw my state before Serafina's cry echoed, making his guilt disappear completely.

"You have crossed every limit, Bianca!" Nico snapped, his eyes burning with rage.

"Serafina was perfectly fine until you brought that food! What the hell did you mix in it?!"

"Nothing," I said hoarsely. "It was her who mixed the peanuts—"

"Nothing?" His eyes darkened, voice dropping to ice. "You still dare lie!"

"Today I will teach you a lesson you will never forget." His voice carried the formal weight of a decree, the kind spoken before witnesses and never retracted. "I, Nico Graystone, Boss of the Graystone Family, strip you, Bianca Ferrante, of your title and standing as my wife. From now onwards your status is reduced to nothing. You are unworthy to stand beside me or speak for this Family. Apologize, or this won't be it!" he commanded.

"No!" I spat.

"What did you say?" His eyes sharpened into ice, a tinge of shock at my calmness.

"I said no! I will not—"

He reached into his pocket.

And the world… stopped.

Hanging between his fingers was a small, tarnished locket belonging to my mother. The very locket I had given Nico as a promise when we were thirteen. If you keep this, you keep me.

"You shouldn't be so stubborn, Bianca." His thumb traced it lazily.

"Apologize now or this disappears forever." A chill crept into his eyes, his tone leaving no room for refusal.

My vision blurred. Not from weakness, but from grief so sharp that it crushed me.

I got up with the last of my breaths, my knees hitting the cold floor. Pain ricocheted up my spine. The hospital tile was freezing, the kind of cold that seeped through cloth and skin and went straight to bone.

I could barely breathe, barely stay upright.

Slowly… painfully… I lowered myself until my forehead touched the cold floor.

"I am sorry," I whispered before looking up at Nico, and the moment our eyes met, his entire being faltered.

Broken, destroyed, and utterly ruined.

The red-rimmed eyes that once held an ocean of love looked at him with raw despair… empty.

This time, he hesitated, his expression complicated. His fingers twitched around the unlit cigarette he'd been holding, and for one breath the motion stopped completely.

It was then Serafina sniffled delicately, wiping a perfectly timed tear. Her fingertips drifted to her collarbone, eyes glistening with tears that pooled and shimmered but never fell.

"Oh, sister… I didn't want this." It was then she gently took the locket from Nico.

"Here, sister… I will give it to you," she murmured, stepping toward me with a gentle, angelic smile.

My fingers shook as I reached out, bloodshot eyes only focused on it, but before I could grasp it… the locket fell.

Clink.

The glass center shattered like a small, dying cry, breaking into millions of pieces. My mother's photograph scattered across the hospital floor in fragments no bigger than dust.

"No!" I screamed, a raw sound that rippled through the ward.

My knees scraped the floor, pain burning through bone as I scrambled on my palms across the broken glass, desperately trying to gather the tiny fragments.

"Bianca, stop it." Nico looked momentarily at a loss but still hardened his expression.

"NO!!" I shouted, my voice unrecognizable.

Serafina jumped at the sound, then instantly clutched her stomach dramatically, gasping.

"N-Nico… sister is scaring me… I am sorry… I didn't mean to drop it… please don't be angry…"

A flicker of pity rose in Nico but the moment he thought of Serafina, it disappeared.

His eyes turned cold, flat.

"Stop this pathetic tantrum," he said to me, voice low with disgust. "If you were so concerned about it then maybe you shouldn't have tried to kill your sister!"

I stared at the ground, my chest rising violently, my hands still digging through glass.

And yet he didn't see the wounds on my hand, the tremors racking my body as I went paler each passing second.

He only saw Serafina.

"You can always buy another trinket," he snapped. "Why destroy your dignity over something useless?"

Useless.

My throat closed.

The locket that survived the night my father poured kerosene on my mother's belongings and burned her from our lives.

Useless.

The only proof my mother ever existed.

The only reassurance I had that she still watched over me.

The only thing I thought would protect my daughter in my womb.

Something inside me fractured so fatally that I forgot to breathe.

"If you understand your mistake, go home and wait for me. This locket… I will compensate you after our wedding tomorrow."

He turned away, guiding Serafina out. One of the soldiers held the door open for them, then pulled it shut without looking back at me.

Silence settled, heavy as ash.

I remained kneeling on the floor, fingers trembling over the bloodied shards. Somewhere down the corridor a phone rang and rang and no one answered it.

Then a warm wetness trickled down my thigh.

Slow, heavy, and dark red.

Spreading like a quiet massacre beneath me.

At first I stared at it blankly as if it belonged to someone else, as if it couldn't possibly be my baby.

My daughter.

But the crimson blood kept blooming beneath me.

My throat closed so tight I couldn't breathe. Couldn't scream. Couldn't move.

It felt like watching my entire life drain out onto the floor as nurses rushed inside, holding my head before it hit the ground.

"She is going into shock labour! Move, now!"

The night passed in a blur when I finally reopened my eyes in the cold hospital.

My hand moved before my mind could stop it, trembling as it reached for my stomach.

Flat. Hollow… empty.

My daughter was gone.

They didn't ask if I wanted to see her one last time as I was handed her mortal remains. They knew better.

I buried her myself.

No Catholic rites. No prayers were spoken as I lowered her to the ground, my hands trembling as I laid fresh roses on her grave. No priest. No candle. No one from the Family standing witness. Just me and the cold earth and a box so small it fit in my palms.

This should have been me, baby, if only I could exchange my life for yours.

The nameplate read: Mira.

"There wasn't a moment Mom didn't love you, baby," I whispered, bidding my farewell.

At least now she wouldn't be hurt again and again. Wouldn't suffer as her father tried to smother her breath before she ever drew one.

My phone rang.

Once.

Twice.

I didn't answer until the third time.

Carmela's voice came through elated and mocking.

"It's done," my mother-in-law said. "The northern territories are now under your name as agreed. You have what you wanted. From this moment on, disappear."

She paused as though savoring good news.

"My dear daughter-in-law, Serafina, also brought me good news. The Family's deal on the Southern Shipping Route is about to be finalized."

There was pride in her voice now.

"With her by his side, my son will soon control the most profitable smuggling corridor on the Eastern Seaboard."

She paused, rubbing the words in my face.

"Don't cling to the Graystone Family anymore. You have no husband. No title. No place here. After Nico marries Serafina today, no one will even remember you."

The line went dead.

She believed Serafina's deal on the Southern Shipping Route was set in stone, thinking she could still look down on me and taunt me just as she always had. She mocked my uselessness, she mocked the fact that I had no crew, no soldiers, no protection of my own.

But soon, her arrogance will be stripped away.

The shipping deal is about to be scrapped, and I, the unprotected girl she once held in utter contempt, can feel the power inside me slowly beginning to surface. My own network. My own name spoken in rooms I was never supposed to enter.

Smile and celebrate all you want. I will push you all to the point of no return.

I looked down at Mira's grave, my fingers tightening around the roses until the thorns bit into my skin.

A tear slipped free, silent and burning.

"Sleep, my love," I whispered. "Since this Family failed you… I will reduce it to ash."

I stayed there a long time after the call ended, until the sky dimmed and the wind carried the scent of damp earth over my daughter's grave.

Only then did I turn away.

I went back to the Graystone estate and gathered my things in silence. The household staff watched but dared not stop me. The soldiers posted at the hall entrance looked at the floor as I passed.

The sparkling black dress laid on the bed for me was the first thing I threw into the fireplace. I watched the fire take all of it. The silk curled and blackened, and the last version of myself that knew how to love and forgive burned with it.

It was at that moment a string of messages beeped on my phone.

[Nico: Be at the ceremonial hall by 7 PM.]

[Nico: You don't need to worry. Everything has been arranged.]

[Nico: If you cooperate tonight, I will make sure you aren't treated unfairly.]

[Nico: You should learn to be sensible, Bianca. This is the best outcome for everyone. Don't make things difficult. I will still take responsibility for you.]

I stared at the screen until the words blurred before taking out the SIM card and throwing it into the trash.

Then I closed my eyes.

The hidden phone Dominic had given me pressed against my ribs where I'd kept it, warm against my skin. No longer distant. No longer something I could hold at arm's length.

Dominic.

I didn't fight it this time.

I accepted.

The pull was instant, overwhelming. The world tilted as I felt the weight of what it meant to be claimed by the most powerful Don on the Eastern Seaboard seep into my bones.

Before I left, I handed a sealed envelope to the driver waiting at the entrance to take me to the wedding.

"Deliver this to Nico Graystone," I said calmly. "Tell him it's my sweet wedding gift to him."

It contained proof of the child he killed and the empire he thought he still owned.

He will soon find out that the daughter he once longed for most was killed by his own hands.

When I stepped outside, Dominic stood beneath the fading sky, his tall frame still radiating the controlled violence of a man who had just come from something bloody. Fresh scars traced his arms and collarbone, blood barely dried at his temple. His soldiers flanked the car behind him, but none of them mattered. His gaze dropped immediately to my stomach, and something dark and furious crossed his face.

"I will cancel everything," he said without hesitation. "The wedding. No one will touch you. You need time—"

"No. The wedding will be tonight. My daughter is waiting for me to avenge her."

With that I got into the car, the Graystone estate blurring behind my vision.

Now, the tables have turned. It's time for Nico and Serafina to suffer.